verizonhttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/3001/all
enThe Week's Hottest Apple News Stories, November 14http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/weeks_hottest_apple_news_stories_november_14
<!--paging_filter--><p>Lot of security questions going on this week and expectations of new devices going into the holiday season. What's this about big security flaws people have found in iOS devices? Could there be trouble in Cupertino's paradise? Nah, but you should still be careful. That and more as the holiday season begins gearing up with Black Friday news in this week's roundup of the hottest stories for Apple fans.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/weeks_hottest_apple_news_stories_november_14#commentsGalleryNewsairplayApple WatchAppsBeatsbest buyBlack FridaygamesHeadphonesHome Depotjony I'vemalwaremasqueMasque AttackSecurityverizonverizon connection daySat, 15 Nov 2014 01:30:00 +0000J Keirn-Swanson20939 at http://www.maclife.comAT&T Confirms It's Locking Apple's New iPad SIM Card After Activationhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/att_confirms_its_locking_apples_new_ipad_sim_card_after_activation
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u334114/2014/10/sim.jpg" width="250" height="184" class="graphic-right" />For consumers, at least, the news that the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 would support a SIM card that could freely be switched out among AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and EE in the United Kingdom seemed like a dream come true. Unfortunately, AT&amp;T refuses to play along. Word surfaced at numerous sources today that anyone who connects their new iPad to an AT&amp;T data plan will find their Apple SIM cards locked to the carrier.</p><p>As Apple says <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6499?viewlocale=en_US&amp;locale=en_US" target="_blank">on its site</a>, “When you choose AT&amp;T on iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, AT&amp;T dedicates Apple SIM to their network only." That means that if you ever want to switch to another carrier, you'll need to buy another Apple SIM card from an Apple retail store or approved partner. On the bright side, they typically cost only $10 or so.</p><p>It's a low blow, no doubt, but hardly surprising considering how tenaciously the carrier held on to the iPhone during its early years. But at least AT&amp;T customers have the option to switch, even if it's saddled with petty inconveniences — Verizon customers can't use Apple's self-branded SIM card at all.</p><p>If you're worried, no, AT&amp;T's locked SIM card doesn't mean that the iPad itself is locked. (AT&amp;T confirmed this earlier today in a statement to <a href="http://recode.net/2014/10/24/att-confirms-apple-sim-gets-locked-to-its-network-but-says-switching-carriers-still-easy/" target="_blank">Re/code</a>.) When it's time to switch, just pull out AT&amp;T's antisocial card and pop in a new Apple SIM card, and it should work as well as before.</p><p><strong>Photo via<a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/24/att-apple-sim/" target="_blank"> MacRumors</a></strong></p><p><em>Follow this article's writer,<a href="https://twitter.com/LeifJohnson" target="_blank"> Leif Johnson</a>, on Twitter.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/att_confirms_its_locking_apples_new_ipad_sim_card_after_activation#commentsNewsApple SIMAT&TiPadipad air 2iPad mini 3SIMSprintT-MobileverizonFri, 24 Oct 2014 23:46:07 +0000Leif Johnson20841 at http://www.maclife.comApple Breaks Pre-Order Record with iPhone 6; iPhone 6 Plus Sells Outhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_breaks_preorder_record_iphone_6_iphone_6_plus_sells_out
<!--paging_filter--><p>Last night was rough for Apple enthusiasts seeking to pre-order the <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/iphone-6-iphone-6-plus-details-features-date-price" target="_self">iPhone 6</a>. As we recounted in our <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/morning_report_iphone_6_preorders_lacie_d2_thunderbolt_2_onedrive_10gb" target="_blank">Morning Recap</a>, heavy traffic brought down the online Apple Store for almost two hours after pre-orders went live at 12:01 a.m. PST. But apparently plenty of people got through (and it didn't hurt that the sites for AT&amp;T and Verizon worked fine), as a new report says that last night set a record for iPhone pre-orders.</p><p>"Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible with a record number of preorders overnight," an unidentified Apple representative said in a statement to <a href="http://recode.net/2014/09/12/larger-iphone-6-plus-sells-out-amid-strong-demand-for-apples-latest-crop/" target="_blank">Re/code</a>. The rep declined to say exactly how many orders were made.</p><p><img src="/files/u334114/2014/09/iphone6.jpg" width="620" height="222" /></p><p>AT&amp;T CEO Ralph de la Vega delivered a similar statement to <a href="http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/atts-de-la-vega-weve-already-taken-hundreds-thousands-iphone-6-6-plus-pre-o/2014-09-12" target="_blank">Fierce Wireless </a>in which he praised the orders but held back from providing any figures aside from a vague "hundreds of thousands" of pre-orders. He did, however, state that the iPhone 6 is already outpacing the demand for the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c from last year.</p><p>"It's amazing to see the volume," de la Vega said. The response was so amazing, in fact, that the larger iPhone 6 Plus is now listed as sold out for pre-orders for both Apple and all major carriers.</p><p>The most impressive numbers should appear after the two versions of the new iPhone go live on Friday, September 19. Last year Apple achieved a record of 9 million iPhones sold in one weekend with the combined 5s and 5c units, and it looks well on path to surpass those numbers a week from now.</p><p>The phones will launch next Friday in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, and availability in other countries will follow in the weeks and months afterward.</p><p><em>Follow this article's writer, <a href="https://twitter.com/LeifJohnson" target="_blank">Leif Johnson</a>, on Twitter.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/apple_breaks_preorder_record_iphone_6_iphone_6_plus_sells_out#commentsNewsAT&Tiphoneiphone 6iPhone 6 Pluspre-orderRecordsalesverizoniPhoneFri, 12 Sep 2014 23:01:14 +0000Leif Johnson20625 at http://www.maclife.comOvernight Recap: Verizon Q4 Earnings, Edge Animate CC, Intel Ditches Web TVhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_verizon_q4_earnings_edge_animate_cc_intel_ditches_web_tv
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/verizon_wireless_sign_620px.png" alt="Verizon Wireless" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>Apple will announce its quarterly earnings for the 2013 holiday season next Monday, but many of its partners are already doing the same, including Verizon, which sold a lot of smartphones over the past three months — but won't say how many of them were of the iPhone variety. Kind of a bummer for those who like to follow such facts and figures, but something tells us the news will be worth the wait next week. In the meantime, on with the recap show!</p><h3>Verizon Sells 8.8M Smartphones in Q4, But How Many Were iPhones?</h3><p>On Tuesday, <a href="http://www.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/htmls/news_verizon_caps_strong_record_of_success_in_2013_with_fourth_consecutive_quarter_of_doubledigit_earning.htm" target="_blank">Verizon announced</a> overall double-digit earnings growth for the fourth quarter of 2013, with an eight percent year-over-year increase in wireless service revenue and the addition of 1.7 million net postpaid subscribers. To the surprise of no one, smartphones made up 70 percent of Verizon's postpaid accounts by year's end, with 8.8 million such devices activated during the quarter. Unfortunately, the carrier has followed AT&amp;T's lead by not announcing how many of them were iPhones, so those hoping for an early peek at Apple's own quarterly earnings will have to wait until next week for Cupertino to unleash those numbers.</p><h3>Adobe Juices Up Edge Animate CC with Support for Audio</h3><p><a href="http://blogs.adobe.com/edge/2014/01/21/did-you-hear-that-a-new-version-of-edge-animate-cc-is-here/" target="_blank">Adobe announced Tuesday a major update to Edge Animate CC</a>, bringing the HMTL5 animation software to version 3.0 for Creative Cloud subscribers. The big news with the latest release is support for audio, which can now be imported into projects and synchronized with a timeline. But that's not all: The update also delivers responsive scaling for keeping the aspect ratio of a project correct while a container or browser is resized, and the ability to add JavaScript libraries such as Greensock, Edge Commons, jQuery UI and others into a new panel. The update is now available for Creative Cloud subscribers.</p><h3>Intel Sells Web TV Ambitions to Verizon</h3><p><a href="http://recode.net/2014/01/21/intel-formally-shuts-off-its-web-tv-plans-with-sale-to-verizon/" target="_blank">Re/code reported Tuesday</a> that chipmaker Intel apparently no longer has its eye on web-based television, announcing a sale of its Intel Media division to Verizon. The deal, which first broke as a rumor back in October, includes all Intel Media assets and "substantially all" of its 350 employees, including general manager Erik Huggers. While Intel appears to have nailed the technology behind pay TV delivery over the web, the content deals apparently weren't so easy — a problem Verizon isn't as likely to have, given that it already provides both FiOS television and high-speed internet of the landline and wireless variety.</p><h3>Feedly for iOS Update Adds Speed Reading, New iPad Design</h3><p>News reader <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/feedly-reader.-blogs-news/id396069556?mt=8" target="_blank">Feedly for iOS received a big makeover last weekend</a>, with version 18.0.5 adding a design refresh for the iPad along with a new night theme for those who prefer to keep the screen dark while reading. The app also delivers a new speed reading feature, and under-the-hood improvements aimed at making image processing faster than ever before. Last but not least, Feedly for iOS 18.0.5 brings a new card allowing users to mark everything as read when reading starts, as well as stomping out the requisite round of crashes and bugs to boot. The update is ready and waiting from the App Store.</p><h3>DoubleTwist Debuts Android App for Stealing iTunes Radio Songs</h3><p>iOS and Android users already have plenty to give each other the stink eye about, but a new app from doubleTwist is likely to raise a few eyebrows in Cupertino as well. <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/01/16/doubletwist-launches-android-app-to-let-users-steal-songs-from-itunes-radio/" target="_blank">9to5Mac is reporting</a> that iTunes Radio Recorder is an Android app whose sole purpose is to save songs streamed from iTunes Radio and circumvent Apple's DRM in the process. The app works in conjunction with a Mac or PC using AirPlay, essentially capturing the audio in real time as it's played back over Wi-Fi — complete with an in-app purchase option for higher-quality AAC VBR recordings. Shouldn't be long before Cupertino unleashes the hounds on this one, so Android users might want to grab it while they can.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_verizon_q4_earnings_edge_animate_cc_intel_ditches_web_tv#commentsNewsAdobeandroidDoubleTwistEdge Animate CCFeedlyIntel Mediaovernight recapQ4 2013quarterly earningsverizoniPadiPhoneiPodMacWed, 22 Jan 2014 13:44:27 +0000J.R. Bookwalter19116 at http://www.maclife.comOvernight Recap: Net Neutrality Setback, Chrome 32, AOL Pawns Off Winamphttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_net_neutrality_setback_chrome_32_aol_pawns_winamp
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/evomail_plus_620px.png" alt="Evomail+" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>Apple's latest iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will finally launch on China Mobile this Friday after years of rumors and speculation about when Cupertino will nab a deal with the world's largest wireless carrier. While the iPhone maker certainly isn't pinning all of its hopes and dreams on one carrier in one country, China Mobile could be the quickest shot in the arm in the war against Android we've ever seen. While we're waiting to see how many handsets are sold this weekend, check out our Tuesday recap!</p><h3>FCC Net Neutrality Rules Shot Down in Federal Court</h3><p><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/14/5307650/federal-court-strikes-down-net-neutrality-rules" target="_blank">The Verge reported Tuesday</a> that the Federal Communications Commission's Open Internet rules faced a serious setback this week in a court case with Verizon that challenged the FCC's anti-discrimination and anti-blocking policies. The court ruling weighed in Verizon's favor, largely because internet service providers aren't considered "common carriers" the same way traditional telcos are. Critics claim the wording of the FCC's net neutrality rules are to blame for the setback, while Verizon responded by saying things will only get better, even without such rules in place. The FCC plans to appeal the decision, which means the battle over an open internet rages on.</p><h3>Google Pushes Chrome 32 to Stable Channel with Tab Indicators</h3><p><a href="http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.com/2014/01/stable-channel-update.html" target="_blank">The Google Chrome Team announced Tuesday</a> the release of Chrome 32, which is now available to all Stable channel users (i.e., the public at large). Better known as 32.0.1700.77 for Mac and Linux, the release adds new tab indicators for sound, webcam and casting, automatically blocks malware files, introduces a number of new apps and extension APIs and "lots of under the hood changes for stability and performance," which are always welcome. Windows 8 users will also find a new look for Metro mode, which attempts to make the Chrome browser act a little more like Chrome OS on Microsoft's own turf.</p><h3>AOL Unloads Winamp, Shoutcast to Radionomy</h3><p><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/14/aol-sells-winamp-and-shoutcast-for-5-10m-to-radionomy-takes-12-stake-in-belgian-digital-audio-company/" target="_blank">TechCrunch reported Tuesday</a> that AOL has finally unloaded Winamp and Shoutcast, the media player software they acquired from Nullsoft for $80 million in 1999. That deal may not have been so lucrative in hindsight, as the sale to new owner Radionomy fetched somewhere between $5 million and $10 million in cash and shares, plus a 12 percent stake in the Belgian digital audio startup. For fans of Winamp and Shoutcast, however, it's a cautious victory — AOL originally planned to shutter both services by December 20, 2013, but Radionomy plans to keep both products alive and "rebuild the story for Winamp," according to founder and CEO Alexandre Saboundjian.</p><h3>Evomail+ for iPhone Takes Another Whack at iOS Mail</h3><p>The folks at Evomail began <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evomail+/id789382550?mt=8&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D8" target="_blank">expanding their product line on Tuesday with the release of Evomail+</a>, a new iPhone app designed exclusively for iOS 7 which brings a fresh new design to last year's third-party email client. For the moment, Evomail+ is designed for Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and IMAP email accounts, with others to be added in future updates. The new app also doesn't natively support the iPad, although the older version (which is still available) does, so that's also likely to change in the coming months. One thing remains the same, however: Evomail+ is free, so if the built-in Mail app or one of its contenders aren't getting the job done for you, there's no harm in trying this one.</p><h3>GoPro Camera Documents Hawaiian Plane Crash</h3><p>Have you ever been in a plane crash? If so, documenting on video might not be the first thing you'd think of doing, but that's exactly what Hawaii vacationer Ferdinand Puentes did. <a href="http://bgr.com/2014/01/13/plane-crash-video-hawaii-gopro/" target="_blank">According to BGR</a>, Puentes just so happened to be documenting a flight off the coast of Kalaupapa, Molokai with his GoPro camera when the plane fell out of the sky and straight into the ocean. The full video was posted by ABC News, but it's not as harrowing as one might think — there's nary a scream to be heard during the entire ordeal, and the passengers appear downright casual about their respective fates. Sadly, the crash did take the life of one passenger, but amazingly, everyone else came out unscathed — and with a visual memento of the event to take back home with them.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_net_neutrality_setback_chrome_32_aol_pawns_winamp#commentsNewsAOLApp StorechromeEvomailFCCGoogleGoProhome videosNet Neutralityovernight recapRadionomyverizonWinampiPhoneMacWed, 15 Jan 2014 13:31:15 +0000J.R. Bookwalter19062 at http://www.maclife.comThe 10 Hottest Apple News Stories, The Week of January 10http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/10_hottest_apple_news_stories_week_january_10
<!--paging_filter--><p>It was an anniversary week with the iPhone celebrating its seventh birthday and we've got the Mac closing in on its 30th later this month. Yes, January has been good for Apple fans. Unfortunately, we don't have any good news on the iWatch front for you just yet. Nevertheless, this week, like nearly every week, there was something cooking on the old news front. Let's see what's what.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/10_hottest_apple_news_stories_week_january_10#commentsGalleryNews3d scannerAmazonAT&TCESCES 2014DellebooksFilmgamesGmailGoogleGoogle+iphoneiWatchmac appsmac gamesmonitornewsSprintT-Mobileverizonweekly newsSat, 11 Jan 2014 01:30:00 +0000J Keirn-Swanson19039 at http://www.maclife.comOvernight Recap: BlackBerry Fire Sale, Xbox One Release, Livestream on Rokuhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_blackberry_fire_sale_xbox_one_release_livestream_roku
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/blackberry_with_canadian_flag_620px.png" alt="BlackBerry office" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>If you happen to be reading this from somewhere in the great white north of Canada, we've got a special recap for you today, with the bulk of our news coming right out of that country. Of course, if you were hoping Verizon would come up there and save your wireless industry, think again -- then read on for all the details.</p><h3>BlackBerry Looking for Quick Sale by November</h3><p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577304579055321852435370.html" target="_blank"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em> reported Wednesday</a> that troubled BlackBerry may be looking to make a quick exit from the business, with a speedy auction said to be wrapping up by November. According to sources familiar with the company's plans, the sale could include all or part of the company, which the board of directors hope to wrap up in record time before the holiday season. Chinese smartphone maker Lenovo has long been considered a potential suitor, especially now that Microsoft appears to be out of the running after purchasing Nokia's handset business earlier this week.</p><h3>Xbox One Gets a Date: November 22 in 13 Markets</h3><p>Anxious Xbox One owners finally received the news they've been waiting for on Wednesday as <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2013/09/xbox-one-launch" target="_blank">Microsoft announced</a> the next-generation gaming console will be available November 22 in the United States and 12 international markets: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and U.K. The company promises "many more markets will follow in 2014," and also revealed a small bump in processor speed, from 1.6GHz to 1.75GHz, estimated to be a 10 percent increase in performance. For Xbox 360 fans, November 22 should be a special day -- it's the same date Microsoft launched its previous console way back in 2005.</p><h3>Verizon Nixes Expansion Plans Into Canada</h3><p>Canadian news outlet <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/verizon-ceo-now-has-no-interest-in-canadian-entry-report/article14071479/" target="_blank"><em>The Globe and Mail</em> is reporting</a> that Verizon has backtracked on plans to expand into that country following the $130 billion buyout of Vodafone. “Verizon is not going to Canada,” Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam stated bluntly, calling the company's interest in that market "way overblown." The news comes as a disappointment to Canadians who were hoping for new competition with deep pockets to shake things up with the trio of existing options. The Canadian government plans to move ahead with a spectrum auction even without Verizon in the hopes of establishing a fourth nationwide carrier.</p><h3>Livestream Debuts Roku App</h3><p>Are you a sucker for live events? If so, you may want to head to your Roku and install the new Livestream app. <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/04/livestream-roku/" target="_blank">According to TechCrunch</a>, the service enables Roku owners to watch live and archived programming in the living room, and marks Livestream's first effort to buddy up with a connected television device. Livestream also has a free iPhone app, offering live content from more than 60 local news stations across the United States as well as partner companies including Associated Press, red carpet events from the Grammys and Oscars and more; a basic subscription to Livestream starts at $42 per month with annual billing.</p><h3>Canadian Carrier Keeping 16GB iPhone 5, Larger Models Discontinued</h3><p><a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2013/09/04/canadian-carrier-telus-to-discontinue-32-gb-and-64-gb-iphone-5-models-on-september-28/" target="_blank">MacRumors reported Wednesday</a> that Canadian wireless carrier Telus may be planning to keep the base model 16GB iPhone 5 around after the new model is released. According to an inventory screenshot from a tipster up north, the 32GB and 64GB models are slated to be discontinued on September 28, only eight days after the rumored iPhone 5S will presumably hit store shelves. Analysts have speculated that the iPhone 5 will go away entirely once the iPhone 5S and the lower-cost iPhone 5C are introduced, but it appears that in Canada, at least, that may not be the case.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/overnight_recap_blackberry_fire_sale_xbox_one_release_livestream_roku#commentsNewsblackberryCanadaCanadianiphone 5iPhone 5SLivestreamMicrosoftovernight recapRokuTelusverizonXbox OneiPhoneThu, 05 Sep 2013 12:26:08 +0000J.R. Bookwalter17960 at http://www.maclife.comVerizon Adds 3.9M iPhones in Q2, Nearly 1 Million New Subscribershttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/verizon_adds_39m_iphones_q2_nearly_1_million_new_subscribers
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/verizon_wireless_sign_620px.png" alt="Verizon Wireless sign on glass" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>Yes, it's that time again: Quarterly earnings reports are starting to roll out for the second quarter that ended June 30, with the most recent being Verizon, which continues to exceed expectations with the iPhone.<br /><a href="http://www22.verizon.com/investor/news_verizon_reports_doubledigit_earnings_growth_in_2q_2013_07182013.htm" target="_blank"><br />Verizon posted its second quarter earnings report on Thursday</a>, and while there's nothing earth-shattering to be found there, the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier continued a steady upward climb in subscribers.<br /><br />Between March and June, Verizon Wireless added 941,000 new, postpaid subscribers to its ranks for a total of 94.3 million. A full 64 percent of those are now using a smartphone, with 7.5 million such devices activated during the quarter — and 6.4 million of those were capable of being used on the carrier's LTE network.<br /><br />Of those 7.5 million devices, just over half were of the iPhone variety, with 3.9 million sold during the second quarter — not bad, considering everyone and their grandmother knows that a new model is on the way this fall.<br /><br />Apple is expected to release its&nbsp;<a href="http://investor.apple.com" target="_blank">fiscal Q3 2013 earnings next Tuesday, July 23</a>&nbsp;at 2 p.m. PDT (5 p.m. EDT), at which time we'll have a better idea of how Verizon's iPhone sales stack up with everyone else.<br /><br />Overall, Verizon earned $2.25 billion on revenues of $27.8 billion, up from $1.83 billion for the same quarter last year.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p><em>(Image courtesy of TechnoBuffalo)</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/verizon_adds_39m_iphones_q2_nearly_1_million_new_subscribers#commentsNews4G LTEiphonepostpaidQ2 2013Q2 financialsquarterly earningssmartphonesSubscribersverizonwireless carriersiPhoneThu, 18 Jul 2013 13:04:18 +0000J.R. Bookwalter17557 at http://www.maclife.comSo It Begins: Verizon, Nokia Post First Quarter 2012 Earningshttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/so_it_begins_verizon_nokia_post_first_quarter_2012_earnings
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/verizon_iphone_stands_tall_200px.jpg" alt="Verizone iPhone" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />The middle of April is behind us, which means corporations will begin posting quarterly earnings for the first three months of 2013. First out of the gate: Verizon, who's off to a great start, and Nokia, who still isn't out of the woods quite yet.<br /><br /><a href="http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/htmls/news_verizon_posts_strong_earnings_growth_in_1q_2013_04182013.htm" target="_blank">Verizon announced its Q1 2013 earnings on Thursday</a> with a $4.8 billion profit and the addition of 677,000 wireless subscribers -- a dip from the 2.1 million subscribers added in the previous quarter, but a big profit jump from the $1.9 billion net loss in Q4.<br /><br />Big Red moved 7.2 million smartphones during the first quarter, and not surprisingly, 5.9 million of those were LTE-capable handsets. The company now boasts 491 markets across the United States, with 4G LTE service available to 287 million people.<br /><br />While the company's official press release didn't break out iPhone numbers, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo told investors during a conference call that Apple's handset made up four million of the 7.2 million smartphones the carrier sold last quarter, with roughly half of those being of the LTE-ready iPhone 5 variety. The remaining 3.2 million were likely Android-based handsets with a smattering of BlackBerry 10 and Windows Phone thrown in for good measure.<br /><br />Speaking of Windows Phone, <a href="http://www.results.nokia.com/results/Nokia_results2013Q1e.pdf" target="_blank">Nokia also posted Q1 2013 financials</a> (PDF link), which saw the company move another 5.6 million Lumia handsets, a jump from 4.4 million in the previous quarter. Unfortunately, only 400,000 of those handsets landed on American shores, a dip from 700,000 in Q4.<br /><br />All in all, Nokia posted an operating loss of roughly $196 million on $7.65 billion revenue for Q1 2013 -- the bleeding hasn't quite stopped yet, but the onetime cell phone champ is holding its own against Apple and Google.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/so_it_begins_verizon_nokia_post_first_quarter_2012_earnings#commentsNews4G LTEiphone 5LumianokiaQ1 2013quarterly lossquarterly resultsrevenueSubscribersverizonVerizon WirelessiPhoneThu, 18 Apr 2013 13:14:15 +0000J.R. Bookwalter16760 at http://www.maclife.comThe 10 Hottest Apple News Stories, The Week of April 5http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/10_hottest_apple_news_stories_week_april_5
<!--paging_filter--><p>A pretty spread out bunch of news stories this week. Whether it's the nation's number four carrier picking up the iPhone at long last or the nation's number one saying they could easily follow suit in getting rid of contracts, it's all the news you missed this week while you were working or some other nonsense. So come on, Apple fans, get a load of the news of the week. &nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/gallery/10_hottest_apple_news_stories_week_april_5#commentsGalleryNewsAmazon AutoRipapril fool's daybaseballbaseball appsDEAGoogleiMessageiOS 7iphone 5recordsresellerT-MobileTerminal 101verizonVinylWarner Archive InstantYouTubeSat, 06 Apr 2013 00:30:00 +0000J Keirn-Swanson16662 at http://www.maclife.comVerizon CEO: Eliminating Wireless Contracts is 'Pretty Easy'http://www.maclife.com/article/news/verizon_ceo_eliminating_wireless_contracts_pretty_easy
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u323900/lowellmcadam.jpg" alt="Lowell McAdam" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />Recently, T-Mobile has situated itself in the mobile carrier market as the "uncarrier," offering the iPhone 5 without a contract. But according to Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam, his company is willing to take a hard look at what mobile consumers want from a carrier, and shifting to a no-contract setup is a very real possibility.</p><p><a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57577842-94/verizon-ceo-says-hes-open-to-dropping-contracts/" target="_blank">According to CNET</a>, McAdam told a group of journalists during a Verizon event on Thursday the company is watching the response to T-Mobile's new plans carefully, and Verizon could turn in a similar direction.</p><p>"I'm happy when I see something different tried," said McAdam. "We can react quickly to consumers' shifting needs."</p><p>Apparently, McAdam stated moving to a no-contract setup is "pretty easy," and Verizon would be willing to follow T-Mobile's lead if consumers showed increased interest in such plans.&nbsp;</p><p>Two weeks ago, T-Mobile announced the carrier would <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/iphone_5_available_tmobile_april_12_99_down" target="_blank">finally begin offering the iPhone</a>. And more importantly, customers could purchase an iPhone 5 for either $99 upfront with scheduled payments, or buy the smartphone full-price and without contract.</p><p>Earlier on Thursday, <a href="http://www.maclife.com/article/news/tmobile_announces_first_subscriber_growth_nearly_4_years" target="_blank">T-Mobile reported a surge in new subscribers</a>; the first time the company has seen such expansion in nearly four years.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>Follow this article's author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/clarkmatt" target="_blank">Matt Clark, on Twitter</a>.</em></p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/verizon_ceo_eliminating_wireless_contracts_pretty_easy#commentsNewsiphoneLowell McAdamno-contract cellularT-MobileverizonVerizon WirelessThu, 04 Apr 2013 23:14:57 +0000Matt Clark16654 at http://www.maclife.comVerizon Loses $4.23 Billion in Q4 2012, Despite 2.1 Million New Subscribershttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/verizon_loses_423_billion_q4_2012_despite_21_million_new_subscribers
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/verizon_ceo_lowell_mcadam_200px.png" alt="Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />It's not easy being the king of U.S. wireless -- even with record new subscriptions, Verizon still managed to rack up a loss for the end of 2012 thanks to Superstorm Sandy damage and rising pension costs.<br /><a href="http://www22.verizon.com/investor/app_resources/htmls/news_verizon_reports_strong_revenue_and_customer_growth_for_verizon_wireless_and_fios_services_in_4q_2012.htm" target="_blank"><br />Verizon reported fourth-quarter 2012 earnings on Tuesday</a>, and it's a bit of a mixed bag for the nation's top wireless carrier this time around. While the company saw a record number of new subscriptions, "non-operational items" dragged on Verizon's profit for the last three months of the year.<br /><br />First the good news: Verizon Wireless banked an 8.5 percent year-over-year increase in service revenues, adding 2.2 million new customers. Of those, 2.1 million were postpaid (i.e., contract) subscribers, a record high for the carrier.<br /><br />4G LTE service also continues to be a strong offering for the company, which now serves more than 273 million people in a whopping 476 markets across the United States. 23.3 percent of Verizon's wireless customers are now using 4G LTE compatible devices.<br /><br />The iPhone also continued to perform for Verizon, outselling Android devices by nearly two to one with 6.2 million of the company's 9.8 million new activations and 87 percent of the company's postpaid sales comprised of smartphones in general.<br /><br />Sadly, Verizon execs don't quite get to enjoy this news with a high-five, given that the overall company lost money in Q4 thanks to expenses both expected and unexpected.<br /><br />Superstorm Sandy repairs recovery efforts dragged on Verizon's bottom line to the tune of $135 million or seven cents per share, while another $1.55 per share (roughly $9-10 billion) related to severance, pension and benefit charges announced earlier this month.<br /><br />All in all, despite consolidated Q4 revenues reaching an all-time high of $30 billion, Verizon still managed to record an adjusted loss of $4.23 billion for the three months. Better luck next time, guys…<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/verizon_loses_423_billion_q4_2012_despite_21_million_new_subscribers#commentsNews4G LTEfinancialsprofitsQ4 2012quarterly lossquarterly resultsSuperstorm SandyverizonVerizon WirelessiPadiPhoneTue, 22 Jan 2013 14:12:18 +0000J.R. Bookwalter16040 at http://www.maclife.comiPhone 5 Reviewhttp://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/iphone_5_review
<!--paging_filter--><h3>Is the new connector a pain? Does it stay charged all day? Do I need to repurchase all my accessories? We put the iPhone 5 through its paces</h3><p>I’ve had two weeks and two weekends with the iPhone 5, enough time to really get to know it, and enough time to stand up and say: best iPhone ever. If you’ve got an iPhone 4S under contract, it’s perfectly fine to not upgrade -- wait for next year’s iPhone 5S or whatever it’ll be called. But if you use an older iPhone -- or you’re new to the iPhone -- you literally cannot do better than this phone. It’s awesome.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.maclife.com/files/u307916/2012/Online/iphone_5_angled_transback_print.jpg" width="620" height="486" /></p><p>But you knew I would say that, didn’t you? It’s telling when the one of the major “criticisms” of a product like this is that it’s not different enough, it doesn’t innovate enough. The hype machine made us wish for the moon, and all we got is an iPhone? How disappointing! Well, no. The iPhone is the best-selling phone of all time, Apple’s best-selling product of all time, just a juggernaut of a success. So why would Apple start from a blank slate? It makes so much more sense to continue incrementally improving the phone we have, and that’s what happened with the iPhone 5. It’s a little taller, thinner, lighter, a lot faster, but at its heart it’s still an iPhone. As it should be.</p><h3>Size and Weight</h3><p>The first thing everyone I’ve handed the iPhone 5 to says--exclaims, really--is how light it is. It feels almost like a joke--the glass-wrapped iPhone 4 and 4S that we’re used to, those have heft. They feel like computers. This one feels like an empty shell with a screen on it. Even though it’s a bit taller (0.37 inch), it still fit in my jeans pockets, and with the light weight (just 3.95 ounces, almost a full ounce lighter than the 4S), sometimes I’d forget it was there.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u307916/2012/Online/screen-shot-2012-09-13-at-11.22.jpg" width="254" height="450" /></p><p>The smooth aluminum back, silver on the white phone and a deep charcoal on the black phone, looks fantastic, even if it feels a bit on the slippery side, and picks up fewer fingerprints than the glass back of its predecessor. Strips of ceramic glass on the top and bottom of the iPhone’s rear provide radio-transparent zones for the antennas, which wouldn’t pick up a good enough signal through solid aluminum. The back and sides are handsomely matte, with a highly polished beveled edge (called the chamfer) cut by a crystalline diamond. The home button feels stronger and “clickier,” the matching metal volume buttons, sleep button, and silent switch feel substantial--the whole package feels very solidly put together.</p><h3>Screen</h3><p>The 4-inch screen is 1136x640, with a density of 326 pixels per inch. The iPhone 4 and 4S have 960x640 screens, so while the iPhone 5’s screen is 176 pixels taller, it’s the same width as before. This is so you can still navigate with your thumb while holding the iPhone 5 in one hand. <br /><br />In my testing, this mostly worked. Thumb-typing on the onscreen keyboard was the same, and flipping the keyboard to landscape mode provided slightly larger letters to hit. And my thumb could reach both sides of the screen, but reaching way up to the top corners proved tricky--I kept “shimmying” the phone a bit in my hand to reach, say, Safari’s back button, Facebook’s list button, and any other buttons in the top-left of the screen (holding the iPhone in my right hand). Clever developers may think of ways to reposition buttons in the lower part of their interfaces, which would help, but even as things are, the hand-shimmy quickly becomes second nature. Maybe over time my thumbs will stretch--just kidding. Having an extra row of icons on the home screen is awesome, and it only took a day or two max before my iPhone 4S’s screen seemed like the weirder of the two, for being so darn short. <br /><br />The screen is incredibly thin and looks even better than the 4S’s screen, with deeper blacks that make the colors pop. Viewing “letterboxed apps” (apps not optimized for the larger screen run in the center with black bars on the top and bottom) on the black iPhone 5, you have to look closely to tell where the screen meets the iPhone’s black face, that’s how dark it is. And iFixit found in their teardown that the screen is relatively easy to replace, giving the iPhone 5 a better repairability score (7 out of 10) than the 4S (6 out of 10).</p><h3>LTE</h3><p>Last year we dinged the iPhone 4S for not having LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, the next generation of cellular networking. iPhone 5 has LTE, which works on all the U.S. carriers, Sprint, Verizon, and AT&amp;T -- and all those carriers are rolling out LTE networks in more and more cities all the time. LTE can achieve theoretical maximum download speeds of 100Mbps, and although we never saw speeds that fast, we did see 26Mbps on several occasions, faster than our home Wi-Fi network’s average of around 18Mbps. Music and video streams with hardly any buffering time and the progress bars for downloads zip along. Going back to the iPhone 4S for a bit, it’s immediately noticeable how much faster the iPhone 5 is.</p><h3>A6</h3><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u307916/2012/Online/original.jpg" width="297" height="300" /></p><p>That speed is also thanks to Apple’s dual-core A6 system-on-a-chip with an integrated triple-core GPU. It clocks in at 1.3GHz, much speedier than the 800MHz A5 chip in the iPhone 4S. The beefed-up graphics power is needed to run the 4-inch, extra-bright Retina display, but it also makes graphics-intensive games really scream--in GLBenchmark tests it even bested the iPad 3. You’ll notice zippier response the entire time you use iPhone 5, from opening apps to loading websites to looking at email attachments. It feels more like a computer and less like a phone with every iteration.</p><h3>Battery</h3><p>With more power and a bigger screen, the demands on the battery are more than ever, and while Apple gained a little vertical space inside the case, they also lost a little thickness. But happily, in my first two weeks with the iPhone 5, I got excellent battery life. <br /><br />Since I don’t have nearly as many Lightning cables (two) as I do 30-pin iPod cables (maybe a dozen), I would find myself trying to go the whole day on a charge--and I’d nearly always succeed. Once I started getting low-battery warnings, I’d just keep using the phone--it ran another 51 minutes just to drop from 3% to the point where it shuts itself down. <br /><br />Once I got a Lightning cable hooked up in my car, just juicing it up for a 30-minute commute home boosted the battery life by 10 percent and kept me going until bedtime--better life than I’m used to getting with my year-old iPhone 4S. (Keep in mind that these percentages are just estimates.) In a battery-rundown test, I got 7 hours, 22 minutes of continuously streaming video over Wi-Fi with the screen brightness at 50 percent--not bad.</p><h3>Camera</h3><p>My iPhone is my most-used camera by far--and with an adorable blonde baby living in my house, I take a lot of snapshots these days. So my favorite thing about the iPhone 5’s 8-megapixel camera is its speed bump--it’s faster than ever to start it up and take a picture. Firing it up from the lock screen (just “flick up” on the camera icon next to the unlock slider) until snapping a picture takes just 2 seconds, and doing the same from the home screen took 1.9, noticeably faster than the iPhone 4S. Snapping repeated pictures seems quicker too, and the low-light performance is improved. It’s the only iPhone that can take still photos while shooting video, a nice touch that parents especially will love. Apple covered the lens with sapphire crystal for its scratch resistance--it’s second in hardness only to diamond. But in total, the iPhone 5’s camera isn’t as big a step up as, say the 8-megapixel 4S camera was compared to the 5-megapixel iPhone 4. <br /><br />The front camera on the iPhone 5 saw a more dramatic improvement, now capable of 720p video and 1.2-megapixel stills, plus it got a backside illumination sensor for better pictures in low light. Nice for Instagram shots of yourself, but the back camera is still the one to use, of course.</p><h3>Lightning Connector</h3><p>One way Apple saved space inside the super-thin iPhone 5 is to ditch its 30-pin port for a new, dramatically smaller, proprietary port they’re calling Lightning. This means you can’t use your old iPod cables to charge it, or connect it to existing speaker docks without an adapter.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/files/u307916/2012/Online/lightning-ipod.jpg" width="620" height="497" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>So tiny!</strong></p><p>&nbsp;But judged on its own, the 80 percent smaller Lightning connector is a dream to use. It’s reversible, so you literally can’t put it in wrong. There’s no metal-on-metal crunch of pins connecting--it glides right in but then snaps into place, with enough tension to support the weight of the phone from the cable. (Which isn’t technically good for it, we’re sure, nor is swinging it around above your head like a cowboy.) Apple includes one Lightning-to-USB cable, so you still charge via USB on your Mac or any USB charger you have lying around already--just don’t lose that cable, since replacement ones are $19, only from Apple until third parties can license the technology.<br /><br /><strong>The bottom line.</strong> The iPhone 5 is an incredibly well-made phone, and it’s tough to imagine any existing iPhone user finding many problems with the hardware itself. (iOS 6 has been good to me, too, but I live in an area with excellent Maps data.) Calls sound good, the battery holds up under my rigorous use, and I’ll never be able to go back to a 3.5-inch screen again. It’s sure to remain king of the smartphone mountain for another year until Apple figures out how to improve it some more--and I can’t wait to see how.</p><fieldset class="fieldgroup group-the-bottom-line"><legend>Review Synopsis</legend><div class="field field-type-text field-field-product">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Product:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>iPhone 5</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-company">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Company:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
Apple </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-contact">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Contact:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p><a href="http://apple.com" target="_blank">apple.com</a></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-price">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Price:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
$199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB, all with two-year contract </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-requirements">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Requirements:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p><strong>Specs:</strong> A6 processor, 4-inch 1136x640 Retina display, dual-band Wi-Fi, LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, 8-megapixel 1080p iSight camera with LED flash, 1.2-megapixel 720p FaceTime camera, Lightning port. Includes Lightning-to-USB cable, USB charger, and Apple EarPods.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-positives">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Positives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>So thin and light. New connector is reversible. Really fast. Speedy LTE. Solid battery life.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-negatives">
<div class="field-label"><p><strong>Negatives:</strong>&nbsp;<p></div>
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<!--paging_filter--><p>Camera isn’t a huge improvement. Lightning adapters pricey and not available on day 1.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
</fieldset>
http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/iphone_5_review#commentsReviewsAT&TiOS 6iphone 5iphone 5 displayiphone 5 LTELightninglightning connectorLTESprintverizoniPhoneTue, 09 Oct 2012 20:44:24 +0000Susie Ochs15272 at http://www.maclife.comWeekend Recap: Verizon Carrier Update, iCloud Storage Mystery, Maps Downgradehttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/weekend_recap_verizon_carrier_update_icloud_storage_mystery_maps_downgrade
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/icloud_storage_bug_200px.png" alt="iCloud storage upgrade bug?" width="200" height="152" class="graphic-right" />September is now but a memory, but there's still plenty to look forward to in October thanks to the new iTunes 11 expected by month's end, and if the rumor mill proves correct yet again, some kind of "iPad mini" could also pop up on Apple's radar as well. With only three months left on the 2012 calendar, Cupertino will have to move quickly if they want to release updated Macs or other products by the holidays, so stay tuned and see what might be coming your way. In the meantime, here's what you might have missed over the weekend...</p><h3>Apple Issues Carrier Update for Verizon iPhone 5</h3><p>Did you know that your new Verizon-branded iPhone 5 could potentially use cellular data, even when connected to Wi-Fi? Fear not, <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5526?viewlocale=en_US&amp;locale=en_US" target="_blank">Apple has come to the rescue with Carrier Settings Update 13.1</a>, which can be applied by heading to Settings &gt; General &gt; About and waiting for the alert to appear. Tap OK to install, then power your handset off and turn it back on again -- bug squashed!</p><h3>Extra 20GB of iCloud Storage Now Free Until 2050?</h3><p>On Sunday night, <a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2012/09/30/apple-quietly-bumping-icloud-storage-to-25-gb-until-the-year-205/" target="_blank">TUAW noted</a> what many believe to be a bug in Apple's iCloud storage settings. MobileMe users who were already notified that their 20GB free ride was coming to end on September 30 are now seeing a message showing their next payment is due on the same date, but 38 years in the future. So is Apple really handing out free iCloud storage bumps until 2050 or is it just a ghost in the machine? Cupertino has yet to comment on the matter, but we're still seeing the date on our own account, with no charge for our current plan as yet.</p><h3>Apple No Longer Touts Maps App as "Most Powerful"</h3><p>Following CEO Tim Cook's public apology about the new iOS 6 Maps app on Friday, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57523135-37/apple-backtracks-on-most-powerful-map-app-claim/" target="_blank">Cnet is reporting</a> that Apple has also revised the wording used to describe the software on its website. Originally touted as "the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever," the description has quietly been changed to "all in a beautiful vector-based interface that scales and zooms with ease." And indeed it does, but that's quite a demotion from being most beautiful or powerful, isn't it?</p><h3>Fortune Wonders Aloud If Apple Should Ditch iOS Boss Scott Forstall</h3><p>Speaking of Maps, <a href="http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/09/29/does-apple-have-a-scott-forstall-problem/" target="_blank">Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt published a damning report</a> on iOS head of software Scott Forstall on Saturday, wondering aloud if Apple needs to ditch the executive following very public gaffes with both Siri and the new Google-less Maps. "There's no excuse," exclaims Fortune reader John Garner. "Quality control on Apple Maps had to have been terrible to not get this right. Bluntly, Scott Forstall should be fired over this mess." Having followed Steve Jobs to Apple from NeXT, this isn't the first time Forstall has been put in the hot seat -- a profile in Bloomberg Businessweek last year painted the software exec in an unflattering light, even as it painted him as an eventual contender for the CEO throne.</p><h3>iTunes, App Store Terms and Conditions Bug Briefly Locks Out Users</h3><p><a href="http://www.macrumors.com/2012/09/30/widespread-itunes-and-app-store-terms-and-conditions-bug-preventing-new-purchases-and-downloads/" target="_blank">MacRumors is reporting</a> that iTunes and App Store customers experienced a bug with Apple's Terms and Conditions overnight which prevented purchases or even updates to be installed for U.S. accounts. After being asked to accept a change in the company's Terms and Conditions and accepting, the prompt continues to pop up over and over again in an endless loop. By the time we posted this update on Monday morning, all was right with the world again -- so go ahead and accept those terms and you should be good to go.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/weekend_recap_verizon_carrier_update_icloud_storage_mystery_maps_downgrade#commentsNewsApple Inc.Apple MapsBugscloud storageiCloudiphone 5Scott ForstallTerms of Serviceverizonweekend recapiPhoneMon, 01 Oct 2012 12:30:12 +0000J.R. Bookwalter15193 at http://www.maclife.com720p FaceTime Will Require a Hefty Data Planhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/720p_facetime_will_require_hefty_data_plan
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u53/2012/09/coolfacetimekids.jpg" width="620" height="349" /></p><p>Of all the subtle yet significant enhancements in iPhone 5, perhaps the sneakiness is FaceTime. Not only do we get a 720p camera for the first time on an iPhone, we also get the ability to make FaceTime calls wherever we are, thanks to iOS 6's untethering from Wi-Fi.<br /><br />But with unlimited data plans quickly going the way of the Cube, this one-two punch of an upgrade is a bit of a double-edged sword. AT&amp;T has already put limitations on it; the once-exclusive carrier is only letting users under its Mobile Share umbrella to use FaceTime over Cellular--thereby shutting out grandfathered unlimited users. Verizon doesn't seem to have a problem, but then again,&nbsp; it dropped its unlimited plans months ago; Sprint's cool with it even for unlimited customers, but there isn't much it won't do to get your business.<br /><br />So why all the limitations? Because streaming live 720p video over 4G is going to eat up quite a bit of data. According to Verizon's handy data calculator, streaming 5 hours of 4G video per month (not taking quality into consideration) will consume more than 1.7 GB of your plan, at a rate of about 350 MB per hour (using the 3G iPhone 4S, that number drops to about 250 MB). But since FaceTime is sending and receiving video--and we're talking HD--those estimates might actually be a bit conservative.<br /><br />What's unclear is whether Apple has taken steps to save us from ourselves. While FaceTime over Wi-Fi will use every bit of the camera's resolution, we're not sure if Apple will limit the picture quality when using a cellular network. But we haven't heard any grumblings about that, and based on the carriers' response, it appears as though it won't. Obviously signal strength is a mitigating factor, but iPhone 5 users shouldn't experience much lag over 4G; over 3G, iPhone 4S users might struggle some, even with its VGA camera.<br /><br />We might not like it, but there's a reason AT&amp;T and Verizon are scrambling to make sure you're paying for FaceTime over Cellular. But it's not the strength of their networks they're worried about--it's their bottom line.</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/720p_facetime_will_require_hefty_data_plan#commentsNewsBlogs720pAT&TdataFaceTimeiphone 5verizoniPhoneFri, 14 Sep 2012 17:31:13 +0000Michael Simon15066 at http://www.maclife.com